A field report for Mike Upton & the Kala ʻohana — the instruments you gifted walked the whole country this autumn, and every stop has the pictures to prove it.
ETHGlobal Tokyo · ZuCity Japan, Komoro · Burning Japan — Art Sanctuary & Official Sound Stage
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The update
Three stops, one ukulele family
Autumn 2026. From a Tokyo hackathon floor to mountain community circles in Nagano to a dusty ranch under the volcano — the Kala instruments you placed in my hands played every room, every circle, and every stage Japan offered. This page is the receipt, with love: every photo and clip below comes straight from the road. The full story & proposal lives at shakaleikaumaka.com/kala.
Stop ①Sep 25–27 · Tokyo
ETHGlobal Tokyo — ukuleles on the hackers' table
Three days inside one of the biggest builder gatherings on earth — and the Kala table became the venue's heartbeat. Instruments laid out like an open invitation, hackers strumming between commits, and at 2 in the morning a builder holding his first ukulele like it was treasure. Because it was. The gift circle never really closed all weekend.
Your bard at the ETHGlobal Tokyo wall — Sep 27
The table · the 2 AM gift · builders at play
Stop ②October · Komoro, Nagano
ZuCity Japan — every community circle, the uke came out
Weeks of community gatherings in the mountains with the ZuCity Japan family — popup-city builders, dreamers, and neighbors. Multiple gatherings, and the ukuleles played them all: the gig bag hanging by the little stage under the disco ball, the circles running past midnight into the mountain quiet — and one Saturday night, our own show: two stages across the street from each other, DJ Colorfly on the decks, the whole town walking back and forth, keep dancing. In Komoro, the instruments stopped being guests — they became furniture of the heart.
The Kala bag at the community stage — Oct 1, 9:56 PM
One night, two stages across the street — MIMI BAR ⇆ 333 BAR, with DJ Colorfly · Oct 3
Stop ③Oct 8–12 · Tsumagoi Bokujo ranch, Gunma
Burning Japan — the Art Sanctuary & the official sound stage
Five days off-grid on a ranch in the Gunma mountains — and the ukuleles did the double shift: sets at the Art Sanctuary among the painted boards and prayer flags, and music on the official sound stage, drums on the grass and all. The instruments watched the sunrise over the valley, rode the exodus, and came home dusty and happy. Leave no trace — but leave a song.
Resting between sets at the Work & Camp sign — the ranch valley behind
▶ U·BASS tag
▶ the sound stage kit
The Art Sanctuary · sunrise instruments · the Pearl kit on the grass at the official sound stage
